Papillon de la Nuit is one of
Ron Haselden’s most ambitious projects in his recent
series of sculptures in the rural landscapes of Brittany. In the grounds of the Manoir des Guérandes, two
vast planes of coloured woven cord, totalling one hundred metres in length, stretch
out as tilted wings, slowly rising to a height of four meters above the ground.
Sunlight reflects and plays across the predominantly blue surfaces in its
passage east to west, shadowed only by clouds and the neighbouring oak and
chestnut trees. Visitors are encouraged to enter and wander in and through the
many criss-crossing grassy pathways below, where the complex supporting
structure encapsulates pockets of vegetation, allowed to grow wild, providing
much interest from the assortment of butterflies, bees and other small animals
abundant in that area.